The worst thing that can happen to this Thunder season is something that’s reared its head in every single game thus far. That’s egos creeping in and causing players to believe they’re better than. Tonight, much like the first two nights of the 2012-13 season, there was a ton of barking among Thunder players. At the end of the first quarter, Thabo Sefolosha and Russell Westbrook had to be separated from exchanging words as they walked to the bench. It was a show of anger that surprisingly was also seen from the same two as they walked off the court at halftime Friday night. Later, Durant chewed out Serge Ibaka for failing to grab a rebound. And of course there was the usual head-shaking between Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins whenever the paint went left unprotected. The problem is everyone has an opinion and everyone is sharing it. It can’t be that way. There should be two voices on the court. Durant’s. And Westbrook’s. Everyone else needs to fall in line. What’s happening now is that everyone is acting like they know best, almost like they’re the reason for the team’s success, like their poop doesn’t stink and the man’s next to them does. And you can’t help but wonder how much of the attitude has to do with last year’s success and whether it will soon subside or only fester and grow fangs.

I think just for the 1st half of the season they might not be a legit threat to us, San Antonio and the Clippers might be.

This isn't the 1st time Sefalosha/Westbrook have yelled at each other

4.45 mark

The one edge this team has had over us the last 2 years is chemistry and continuity and its gone. They may cash in that Kevin Martin expiring + Toronto pick for an all star caliber player in return at the deadline but they still wont have the chemistry they had the last couple of years. Hopefully Kyle Lowry and Toronto stay in the playoff race in the East so that pick doesn't hold great value.

I don't think the Lakers are a threat to San Antonio and the Clippers.

I think they'll get figured out sooner than the Lakers. It'll take some time since Westbrook and Durant have to run the offense more often. They'll also have to figure out how to hide Kevin Martin on D. But, they're younger and were better last season. They have a better head coach too.

They won't be able to replace what Harden brought to the table for them this year on both the offensive and defenive side of the floor. James Harden will be considered the best 2 guard in the game in the next 1-2 years.

OKC went from a 3 headed monster to a much more manageable 2. That team is still definitely solid, but at this point in the season, I'm more worried about the clippers (you'd be a fool if u weren't).

I don't think the Lakers are a threat to San Antonio and the Clippers.

I think they'll get figured out sooner than the Lakers. It'll take some time since Westbrook and Durant have to run the offense more often. They'll also have to figure out how to hide Kevin Martin on D. But, they're younger and were better last season. They have a better head coach too.

I don't think the Lakers are a threat to San Antonio and the Clippers.

I think they'll get figured out sooner than the Lakers. It'll take some time since Westbrook and Durant have to run the offense more often. They'll also have to figure out how to hide Kevin Martin on D. But, they're younger and were better last season. They have a better head coach too.

Based on how the Lakers are playing, they don't even look like a playoff team, much less a threat to take the West. We'll see how they progress.

They have a long way to go before they can even think of winning the West.

Based on the way they're playing? They've played four [expletive]ing games. To say the Lakers won't be a threat in the West with the kind of talent they have is ridiculous. Once they get Nash back and get some chemistry as a unit they'll be as dangerous as anyone in basketball.

Based on the way they're playing? They've played four [expletive]ing games. To say the Lakers won't be a threat in the West with the kind of talent they have is ridiculous. Once they get Nash back and get some chemistry as a unit they'll be as dangerous as anyone in basketball.

Like I keep saying, the Lakers have issues extending back to last season with the coach and players who are still here. I can't ignore that.

To me, the Lakers have too many problems that they won't be able to fix without huge change being made.

Again last year is irrelevant to this season. Brand new team essentially so it makes absolutely no sense to be comparing this team to last year's team.

Metta is still useless, Pau still isn't the same offensive player, and Mike Brown still doesn't put together good rotations. All are long standing issues which look just as big of problems as they've ever been. Having new players hasn't done anything to alleviate those things.

You can't ignore long term issues just because the things are shinier around them.

Last year, Mike Brown took over a team he knew nothing about without training camp, 2 preseason games, and a short-compacted season. To be able to implement brand new offensive and defensive schemes with unknown personnel in a situation like that is TOUGH.

This year he's using yet another new offensive scheme that's brought 2 teams to the verge of a championship (kings and nets, both of which were ultimately beaten by the Lakers, but u don't need a history lesson) with 2 of the main pieces being our new all star acquisitions. It's gonna take time, u are making assumptions about our team 4 games into the season. I guarantee you'll be singing a brand new tune come all star break (+/- a month), when nash and Dwight learn how to play along with Kobe and Pau (and vice versa) and Dwight gets his legs back under him.

Metta is still useless, Pau still isn't the same offensive player, and Mike Brown still doesn't put together good rotations. All are long standing issues which look just as big of problems as they've ever been. Having new players hasn't done anything to alleviate those things.

You can't ignore long term issues just because the things are shinier around them.

Metta isn't useless that's ridiculous. He played very well in the last game which was a great bounce back for him. Pau has played very well so far this season. Brown doesn't have a set rotation, but so what? It's barely been four games. Spoelstra didn't have a set rotation till May of last year and he won a championship. You are completely overreacting to a few subpar performances by a brand new team just like alot of other people did. It will take some time, but eventually the Lakers will be near unbeatable. To say they won't be a threat is ridiculous.

Metta isn't useless that's ridiculous. He played very well in the last game which was a great bounce back for him. Pau has played very well so far this season. Brown doesn't have a set rotation, but so what? It's barely been four games. Spoelstra didn't have a set rotation till May of last year and he won a championship. You are completely overreacting to a few subpar performances by a brand new team just like alot of other people did. It will take some time, but eventually the Lakers will be near unbeatable. To say they won't be a threat is ridiculous.

Metta had one good game. He's been terrible for most of the last 2 seasons and for 3 of 4 games so far this season. He shoots under 40%, shoots under 30% from 3, and shoots under 70% from the free throw line. I don't care what he does for a few games or even a month out of an entire season. His TOTAL BODY OF WORK has been terrible, and this season doesn't look any different. Pau doesn't look the same on offense. He's shooting at low percentages and he's drifting further away from the basket. He at least had an ok season all things considering last season, so I'll give you that maybe he can turn it around.

Don't even get me started on their defense. Metta and Pau have both been liabilities on that end.

Mike Brown didn't have great rotations all of last year, so it's not unreasonable to think he won't this year. Mike Brown isn't Erik Spoelstra.

Pau playing the high post is designed that way. It looked ugly last year cuz Bynum is a one dimensional scorer - one on one back to the basket type player who needs his space and time to set up. Bynums lack of mobility on the pick and roll and below average passing out of the double team nullified a lot of Pau's passing ability

A much more mobile ( in the PnR and offball cuts) and quick attacking (in the post) Dwight is gonna maximize Pau's skillset that much more this year. Add to the fact that Dwight has seen doubles his entire career and knows how to pass out and when to attack them means cleaner looks for everybody. The high-low big to big is gonna be nice when this team begins to gel.

With that being said I pretty much agree with your whole post - except I'm giving metta til ASB to prove his worth, seeing as to how he was injured all last year and is in the best shape since being the DPOY. Mike brown has the same time frame for me. I'm letting last season go cuz it was shortened, but if the rotations aren't set by the ASB and if Kobe or Pau are still playing > 35 minutes a game while antawn plays 12, something is wrong

Pau playing the high post is designed that way. It looked ugly last year cuz Bynum is a one dimensional scorer - one on one back to the basket type player who needs his space and time to set up. Bynums lack of mobility on the pick and roll and below average passing out of the double team nullified a lot of Pau's passing ability

A much more mobile ( in the PnR and offball cuts) and quick attacking (in the post) Dwight is gonna maximize Pau's skillset that much more this year. Add to the fact that Dwight has seen doubles his entire career and knows how to pass out and when to attack them means cleaner looks for everybody. The high-low big to big is gonna be nice when this team begins to gel.

With that being said I pretty much agree with your whole post - except I'm giving metta til ASB to prove his worth, seeing as to how he was injured all last year and is in the best shape since being the DPOY. Mike brown has the same time frame for me. I'm letting last season go cuz it was shortened, but if the rotations aren't set by the ASB and if Kobe or Pau are still playing > 35 minutes a game while antawn plays 12, something is wrong

He's out there by design, but his skill set is also diminishing. His jumpshot is alright, but it isn't as good. He also can't move as well anymore. Particularly on defense, he can't keep up with the quicker PFs anymore. I think he would be closer to normal if he were put in the low post, but that's impossible on this team. Like I said though, I don't think he's done because he still had solid numbers. They were down across the board, but they were close enough to chalk it up to change in role. IIRC, advanced stats show he was still a better player in the low post than Bynum.

Metta has just been awful for a long time. He was iffy his first season here, but I guess he was passable then. His last 2 seasons have been awful. I think that's enough to see that he's just not a good player anymore.